Starting the School Year with Outdoor Learning

Today’s episode is going to be about starting the school year with outdoor learning routines. I am going to share with you how the last week has gone, what we’ve discovered, what our challenges have been and what we’re looking forward to exploring with next week.  What are the expectations when we go on a nature walk? We stay together as a group, we don’t pick living things just for the sake of it, and we stop often to observe and reflect together.  To gather all the learners together, I make a chickadee call – chickadee dee dee. One of our favourite activities this week was looking at dandelions and their common look alikes (Hairy Cats Ear). Did you know that if you pick the stem and it’s hollow, then it’s a dandelion. If you pick the stem and it’s not hollow, then it’s the Hairy Cats Ear.  You can also use the stem of a dandelion as a flute! I also talk about how we are beginning our local bird inquiry. I can’t wait to see how this inquiry progresses over the year.  Some of the hazards we have discussed as a class: we never touch mushrooms (we have a few varieties that are unsafe) as well as the protocol for when we see a black bear. Sit Spot song: From the Trees by Brandon Grant